According to a news report, a 19-year-old PUBG addict killed his family. More recently, a 15-year-old boy killed his brother after he was stopped from playing PUBG.
These news reports sound quite unsurprising to me. Million-dollar gaming companies look for a real audience, and teenagers in India serve as the perfect target audience. Let us take a look at the facts. Stress levels in India have grown quite exponentially. In all fairness and in my opinion, I somewhere do feel that parenting style is somewhere responsible for this madness among the youngsters today. Having unreal expectations from children makes life difficult for everybody. I have a message for parents at the end of the post.
But first, let us take a look at a research study conducted by Linkedin:
- According to the research, Indian parents are amongst the top three in ‘lighthouse’ parenting.
- The same study also sheds light on the fact that 82% of parents in India are involved in deciding their child’s career. Only Brazil and China rank higher.
- The study highlighted that 41% of professionals speak to their parents during work hours more than once a week to keep them updated about the work. If parents are over-involved, then a child’s autonomy is bound to get hampered.
- The study also highlights that 44% of children (18-34) wanted parental guidance on which subjects to study at the university. When studies get boring, children start looking for newer forms of entertainment. PUBG is one of them.
So, my advice to all the parents is: if you want your kids to come out of the PUBG addiction, set your children free. Provide them with the freedom to pursue innovative career paths.